FACT CHECK #SYU7E_VO

WHAT WE FOUND

NASA has officially confirmed the presence of water ice at the lunar south pole through several decades of satellite observations and impact missions 2 8. Early evidence emerged from the Clementine mission in 1994 12 and the 1998 Lunar Prospector mission, which detected high hydrogen concentrations in permanently shadowed regions 1. In 2009, NASA's LCROSS mission provided further proof after intentionally crashing a probe into a south pole crater, revealing water in the resulting plume 10. Definitive confirmation of surface water ice was announced in 2018 based on data from the Moon Mineralogy Mapper (M3), which identified the distinctive way ice molecules absorb infrared light 2 5. This ice is primarily located in permanently shadowed craters where temperatures never rise above minus 250 degrees Fahrenheit 2 4 6.

SOURCES

1. 1 · science.nasa.govACADEMIC
   Moon Water and Ices - NASA Science

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2. 2 · jpl.nasa.govACADEMIC
   Ice Confirmed at the Moon's Poles | NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL)

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3. 3 · nssdc.gsfc.nasa.govACADEMIC
   Water Ice on the Moon? - the NSSDCA - NASA

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4. 4 · moon.nasa.govACADEMIC
   Ice Confirmed at the Moon's Poles – Moon: NASA Science

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5. 5 · inverse.comACADEMIC
   NASA finds best evidence yet that there is water ice on the Moon

   TIER A

6. 6 · earthsky.orgACADEMIC
   Ice on the moon is widespread, new study shows

   TIER A

7. 7 · en.wikipedia.orgWEB
   Lunar water - Wikipedia

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8. 8 · space.comWEB
   Water Ice Confirmed on the Surface of the Moon for the 1st Time!

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9. 9 · scientificamerican.comWEB
   Beyond the Shadow of a Doubt, Water Ice Exists on the Moon | Scientific American

   TIER B

10. 10 · mentalfloss.comWEB
    NASA Found 'Definitive Evidence' That There's Water Ice on the Moon | Mental Floss

    TIER B

11. 11 · techexplorist.comWEB
    Water likely accumulated on the Moon slowly over billions of years

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12. 12 · newspacetracker.comWEB
    Water on the Moon: Ice, ISRU, and Why It Changes Everything | New Space Tracker

    TIER B